MOONSTONE
by raemaeve234
Summary: NCIS gets a new Assistant Director with a mysterious past, who Gibbs seems to know, and no last name. NCIS: L.A. is also involved. Reviews always appreciated!
1. Chapter 1: Ford

Chapter 1: Ford

McGee sat at his computer staring at the screen with a pissed off expression, his jaw clenched shut. He rapped away at the keyboard. Ziva was at her desk, finishing cleaning her gun. DiNozzio was standing on his swivel chair, trying to balance on it, while at the same time, balancing a pencil on the bridge of his nose. Gibbs was not in the bullpen, but speaking with Director Vance in his office.

"What are you doing?" Ziva asked, setting down her reassembled, clean weapon and intertwining her fingers together on her desk.

"Wondering what it would be like to be a tight-rope walker."

"You are wondering how to walk on women's tights?" Ziva asked, confused.

"No, a tight-rope walker, like in a circus." Tony said.

"Oh!" Ziva said, excitedly. "Like clowns, trapeze artists, and when they shoot people out of cannons!" Tony stopped wiggling on top of his chair and looked down at Ziva, the pencil falling from the bridge of his nose.

"How do you know so much about circuses?"

"I remember going to them when I was a child," Ziva said.

"You liked going to the circus?" Tony asked incredulously. Ziva nodded. "The clowns always creeped me out," Tony said. "What about you, McGeek?" he said, looking over at McGee. McGee didn't even register Tony talking to him until three seconds afterwards.

"Huh?" McGee said. Tony rolled his eye and jumped off his chair landing with a thud.

"What are you doing that would cause you to tune me out?" Tony said, walking over to McGee.

"Someone has opened our files."

"What?" Ziva asked, joining Tony at McGee's desk.

"I've been trying to see who's been looking at them but I don't have the clearance to know."

"Whose files did they read?" Ziva asked.

"Everyone's," McGee said. "Every NCIS Agent in D.C. and L.A."

"It could have been Vance," Tony said.

"The Director knows everything about every NCIS agent; he does not need to look over every Agent's file," Ziva said.

"Excuse me?" A gravelly voice said from behind the three agents. They turned around (In McGee's case, looked up.) and saw a very pretty, petite, dark haired, young woman with stunning Green eyes. Tony practically ran to her.

"Hello, I am very, very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzio. How can I help you?" Tony asked, his tone made Ziva want to throw up.

"Hi. I'm Ford." The woman said, shaking Tony's hand.

"Got a first name?" Tony smiled at her.

"Ford is the first name," she said. Tony's face froze, still smiling. Ziva quickly joined them as Ford let go of Tony's hand.

"How may we help you, Miss Ford?"

"Well, I was hoping you could tell me where Director Vance is? I stopped in his office but he was not there."

"I'm right behind you, Ford," Vance said. Ford turned around and saw Director Vance and Gibbs striding up to her.

"Ah, Leon. How are you?" Ford said, embracing the Director.

"Much better, now that you're here. How was your flight?" Vance asked.

"I flew in on a Gulfstream with the Director of the FBI, Leon," Ford said, smiling. Vance cracked a smile as well.

"Not so enjoyable then," He inferred. "SECNAV has been breathing down my neck for the past few days."

"Un-amused by your choice of Assistant Director?" Ford asked. Vance nodded, then Ford nodded her head. "Want me to go ease their minds?"

"It would be greatly appreciated."

Ford nodded again and walked out of the bullpen and made her way up the stairs to MTAC.

"May I ask who that woman is?" Ziva asked the Director. Vance looked back to Gibbs and walked off. It was silent for a moment, then Gibbs said,

"Grab your gear. Dead Marine." Suddenly there was a wild scramble for each persons gear, except for Tony who was still frozen in place. Gibbs noticed this, coming over and slapping Tony in the back of the head, snapping Tony out of his trance. "DiNozzio, grab your gear!" Gibbs yelled, annoyed.

"Who was that woman, Boss?"

"The new Assistant Director of NCIS," Gibbs said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"The new… no way!" Tony said, slightly awed.

"Yeah, way. Now, if I have to tell you to get your gear again, I'll do more than head slap you!"

"What kind of woman has a first like 'Ford'?" DiNozzio wondered out loud. A dead Marine with a stake through his heart was on the ground and DiNozzio, McGee, and Ziva were taking documentation photographs of the crime scene.

"Uh, Doctor, what is he talking about?" Palmer asked, rolling up with the gurney and Dr. Mallard.

"I would assume Anthony is talking about the new Assistant Director."

"Time of death, Duck?" Gibbs asked, coming over from talking to the Marine's wife.

"Jethro, I just got here!"

"Okay, what about cause of death?"

"I would assume the cause obvious," Duck said, gesturing to the stake in the Marine's heart. "You know, this reminds me of a case in Germany where a man had been pushed off a roof and had been impaled by a lamppost----"

"Ziva, McGee," Gibbs called to the agents, and walked away gesturing them to follow him, leaving Tony to the mercy of Ducky's endless storytelling.

Ziva and McGee looked at each other and quickly caught up with Gibbs who as walking to where their cars were parked. "McGee, there is a file called MOONSTONE. The Government does not want anyone to know of it, but the Assistant Director has given me special permission to read it. The only problem is getting it," Gibbs said.

"Can the file be electronically accessed?" McGee asked, understanding that Gibbs wanted him to obtain the file.

"That's why I'm asking you to get it," Gibbs said. McGee nodded. "Do it when we get back to NCIS."

"Yes, Boss,"

"If you get caught, Director Ford will bile you out."

"Yes, Boss," McGee said, again, and turned back around to the crime scene.

"Ziva,"

"Yes?"

"Go back to NCIS. Stay with the Assistant Director until I have read MOONSTONE."

"Protection or surveillance?" Ziva asked.

"Both," Gibbs said and opened his car door, throwing the keys to Ziva. "Take my car back."

"You are sure?" Ziva asked. Gibbs simply stared at her.

"Yes, Gibbs," She said and got into the black car.

Ford retina-scanned herself into MTAC and went in. "Get me SECNAV, Please." Ford said to the MTAC operator.

"Right away, Ma'am." he said, and began to fiddle with the computer. Ford stood ten minutes waiting for the Secretary of the Navy, Andrew Paltoni to connect with MTAC. Ford's patience began to waver. She knew Paltoni did not like her, but that gave him no reason to make her wait. Another ten minutes rolled by. Ford began tapping her foot incessantly. After another twenty minutes, Ford finally sat down on the cushy seats and, of course, thirty seconds later, the gray haired Secretary Paltoni came onto MTAC's giant screen. Ford got up, and put on a headset.

"Director Ford," Paltoni exclaimed, surprised. "I was expecting Director Vance." Ford immediately picked up on Paltoni's regretful tone, and she didn't miss the look of malice that flashed across the Secretary's face. _Boys will always be boys. _Ford thought, inwardly shaking her head. _Don't want to share their toys with the girls._

"Well, yes, Director Vance is busy at this time and asked me to speak for him."

"I must apologize for the delay. I was in a meeting," he said. _Uh huh, and I'm Neil Armstrong._ Ford thought, but kept it to herself and instead, simply nodded politely to Paltoni.

"What did the Director wish to speak about?"

"He has been concerned that you do not approve of his choice of Assistant Director of NCIS," Ford said, cleverly referring to herself in the third person, making it see that she was simply speaking formally, but on a satirical level she was actually insulting him. Luckily for her, Paltoni did not get the insult.

"Well, it is not that SECNAV does not approve of you, Director Ford, I am simply concerned with your… background."

"My 'background', as you say, should only serve to allay any concerns you have."

"How so?"

"It shows I can lead and unify many. I know when, and when not, to lay down the law. I will say no to employees should the good of NCIS and the United States benefit." Ford said.

"It also shows that you are capable of making difficult decisions, as you have made once before," Paltoni said. Ford's heart skipped a few beats as it always did when she remembered the "difficult" decision she had made once. "Should the same situation occur and you were forced to act, would you make that decision again?" he asked. Ford's stomach clenched.

"There comes a time where we all must chose the lesser of two evils for our country."

"That is not what I asked, Director," Paltoni said. "Would you, or would you not, make that same decision again?" Ford, after a moment, with a heavy heart, clenched fists, and glaring eyes, said,

"Yes."

For the first time in Ziva's life, she drove the speed limit. She did not want to even imagine what Gibbs would do to her if she wrecked his car. She knew something was up with the new Assistant Director. She had a feeling that Gibbs was involved, and possibly Director Vance was well. What was with her name? Ford was an American surname, not a woman's first name. "Definitely a conga-drum," Ziva said to herself, as she safely parked behind NCIS.

Ziva walked into the bullpen, set Gibbs' keys next to his computer, and walked up the stairs to MTAC to find Director Ford. Ziva got lucky; Ford was just walking out, as Ziva reached the top of the steps.

"Director Ford!" Ziva said. The dark haired woman looked up at Ziva and waved her over. "I am sorry for not introducing myself earlier. I am Ziva David," Ziva said, outstretching her hand. Ford immediately shook it.

"Assistant Director Ford, as Jethro has no doubt informed you." Ford said, smiling warmly. _She called him Jethro. _Ziva thought. _They definitely know each other. _

"This will sound awkward; Special Agent Gibbs has requested I accompany you for a time."

"Only from Jethro would I accept such a request." Ford said, and gestured for Ziva to go back down the steps first.

"Where are we going, Ma'am?" Ziva asked.

"Please, call me Ford."

"Forgive me, but I am not comfortable being on a first name basis with my superiors," Ziva said, after a moment. Ford laughed a little.

"Ford is technically not my first name. Nor is it my last."

"It is just your name?" Ziva asked, unsure if she fully understood what the Assistant Director was saying. Ford nodded. "Alright, Ford it is." Ziva said as they reached the bottom of the steps. Ford smiled at Ziva as Ziva asked, "Where are we going?"

McGee sat at his desk, finishing out printing a fifty page packet. McGee turned the pages over so he could not read them, took out a tan folder, and slipped the packet in. he waited a few more minutes for Gibbs to come by and sit down at his desk. It was approximately 21:00 (9:00 p.m.) hours. McGee got up with the packet and walked over to Gibbs' desk. Gibbs was quickly becoming annoyed with his computer.

"This is the folder you wanted on Petty Officer Buhler, Boss," McGee said. Gibbs had not asked for a file on their prime suspect Petty Officer Buhler, because DiNozzio had already given him it nearly three hours ago, so Gibbs realized that this was MOONSTONE.

"Good work, McGee," Gibbs said, taking the folder. McGee nodded and smiled, happy for the praise. "Track Ziva's cell phone," Gibbs asked.

"Yes, Boss. Where has she been, by the way?"

"With Director Ford."

"Ah, McGee said, understanding why Gibbs wanted to know where Ziva was. It took him all of thirty seconds to lock onto a location. "1509 17th St."

"Thanks," Gibbs said, grabbing his keys, gun and badge, and walked out of the bullpen.

Ziva really liked the Assistant Director. She was very funny and something about the woman reminded her of an old childhood friend that had died with her sister, Talia. There was something else that caused Ziva to identify with Ford, though Ziva took it with an air of caution. Ford, although she seemed to be a very happy woman, her eyes told a different story. Ford's green eyes told Ziva that she had seen and done terrible things that no one should ever do or see. Like Ziva. Her eyes also told Ziva that the Assistant Director did not get much sleep because of those things.

Ford had several meetings before they settled down to eat at Komi, a very good Greek restaurant. They had a meeting with the Director of the CIA, and Ziva had noticed that Ford had known the Director very well. Afterwards, they went to a formal luncheon with the Ambassadors of Nigeria and Chad and their families, where Ziva learned that Ford spoke fluent Arabic, but she spoke with a dialect that could only be found in Cairo, Egypt, and was not the standard Arabic taught to Americans. _She learned Arabic in Cairo from the locals. _Ziva realized. After the luncheon, Ford made a quick stop at an orphanage called St. Claire's Orphanage, where she would not allow Ziva inside, so Ziva did not know what Ford had been doing. After going back to NCIS, and meeting with NCIS: LA's Hetty Lange (Who is Los Angeles' Manager if Ziva recalled.) and Director Vance in MTAC, Ford requested they have dinner. Ziva couldn't refuse when she heard they were having Greek food.

"So, will you always be in Washington?" Ziva asked, finishing her dinner.

"I will be traveling back and forth between D.C. and L.A., switching off every month."

"Doesn't Los Angeles have a manager?"

"They do, and don't get me wrong, Hetty is a wonderful field manger and I love the woman to death, and my presence in Los Angeles has nothing to do with her way of running NCIS on the west coast. I am going there so NCIS can immediately deal with an impending crises on either end of the United States, should one occur, and Vance will not have to leave his post here in D.C ."

"Ah, I see now." Ziva said. Their waiter came around and gave them the bill.

"You may pay up front when you are ready, ladies,"

"Thank you," Ford said, and began to take her wallet out of her brown purse.

"Oh, no, Ford. Let me pay," Ziva said, and took her wallet out of her pocket.

"No, no, I insist." Ford said.

"How about you split the bill?" Gibbs said from behind the women. Ford looked up and smiled.

" A brilliant idea as always, Jethro, but I will have to ignore that one."

"Ziva, go back to NCIS, I'll take Director Ford home," Gibbs said, a half smile on his face.

"But----" Ziva said, but then Gibb's smile disappeared. Ziva took the hit and stood up and Ford stood up with her.

"Thank you very much for dinner, Director Ford," Ziva said, shaking Ford's hand.

"Thank you for attending dinner with me, Agent David," Ford said, understanding that Ziva wished to be formal in front of Gibbs. The two women shared a smile and Ziva walked out of the restaurant. Gibbs replaced Ziva at the right side of the booth, and Ford sat down opposite him. They stared at each other for a moment, until Gibbs asked his old friend,

"How are you Ford?"

"As good as I will ever be, Jethro. You?" Ford asked. Gibbs shrugged his shoulders.

"Well enough," he said. After a moment, Ford yawned and Gibbs' eyes narrowed. "You still have trouble sleeping?"

"I've always had trouble sleeping."

"Ford, you have to get something for that. You're tired as hell."

"I drink coffee every morning to solve that."

"Not very healthy."

"You have no room to talk. I picked up the habit from you."

"You still should see a doctor about your sleeping habits."

"I know."

"You say you know, but you never do it."

"I know that too," Ford said, smiling, and after a moment, Gibbs smiled to.

"I missed you, Ford."

"I missed you too, Jethro," Ford said, looking at Jethro like she had found a long lost father. Gibbs looked like he was talking with his daughter.

Gibbs took the file out of his coat, and set it gently on the table. "I haven't read it yet. I was wondering what I would expect to find." Ford nodded her head, and said,

"Jethro, remember the first time I ever worked with you and Jenny?"

"How could I forget? You ran us into an underground war bunker and wouldn't let us out for three hours, until your former boss came and took us all back to the states.

"Remember the first impression you had of me?"

"Yeah, I said 'no way this girl is CIA, she's barely even fourteen!'" Ford nodded her head, and pointed to the folder.

"MOONSTONE will explain why I looked so young among other things."

"Why do you want me to read this?" Gibbs asked.

"I got an e-mail from someone heavily involved in MOONSTONE that I trusted deeply two days ago, telling me that other involved in MOONSTONE that should be dead, isn't. Yesterday, the person that sent the e-mail was shot in the head."

"I'm so sorry," Gibbs said, sincerely. "You think you are next?" he asked. Ford shrugged her shoulders.

"It's complicated. But I would like you to do the investigation and for that, you'll need to be read in on MOONSTONE. I will explain this situation in full detail, if you will read it," Ford said. Gibbs looked from the file to his old friend and picked MOONSTONE back up and put it back in his coat pocket.

"I'm in."


	2. Chapter 2: Old Friends

**Chapter 2: Old Friends**

**G. Callen walked into NCIS: LA Office of Special Operations and immediately noticed Sam and Kensie arguing. "Her situation is nothing like G's."**

"**But it is! Sam, I tried searching for that woman, and there are no records of her. She just appeared out of thin air five years ago!" Kenise said, exuberantly. **

"**G. didn't appear out of thin air, he's always existed."**

"**Who are you guys talking about?" Call asked, confused. **

"**The new Assistant Director," Sam said.**

"**She doesn't even have a first or a last name! Just 'Ford'," Kensie said. **

"**G. has a first and a last name," Sam said.**

"**Okay… What are we talking about Director Ford?" Callen asked. **

"**She's coming to L.A. today and she's staying for the month." Nate said, from behind Callen.**

"**Nate! You're the psychologist; don't you think that Director Ford's mysterious appearance is just a little suspicious?" **

"**Ugh, I think you are over analyzing the Director. She does help run NCIS. Her records would be sealed and classified." Nate said. Sam smiled at Kensie and before she could rebuke Nate, Eric appeared over the balcony and whistled to the team. They all immediately got up and went to climb the stairs to the conference room/Eric's lab. **

"**Mr. Callen," Hetty said. She had been waiting for the team on the top step. "A word, if you will." Callen's team looked back at him.**

"**Go on, I'll catch up later," he said. Hetty waited for Callen's team to leave and she said,**

"**You have a call."**

"**From who?" Callen asked, his interest spiking. **

"**Jethro Gibbs," she said.**

"**What does he what?"**

"**I don't know. He only will speak to you." **

**Callen followed Hetty into a different conference room, and saw that Gibbs was already on the large screen that adorned the wall. **

"**Jethro!" Callen said, happy to see his old friend. **

"**Callen, " Gibb said with less enthusiasm, but Callen knew he felt the same.**

"**What do I owe this call to?" Callen asked, knowing Gibbs would get straight down to business. Gibbs answered once Hetty left the room.. **

"**Assistant Director Ford." **_**Why is everyone interested in the new Director?**_** Callen thought to himself. **

"**What about her?"**

"**Keep an eye on her," Gibbs ordered. **

"**Any particular reason why?" Callen asked.**

"**Security risk."**

"_**She's**_** a security risk?" Callen asked, incredulously. Gibbs shook his head. **

"**No, not at all. You can trust her. Someone may be a threat to her," Gibbs corrected. "I want to make she is safe in Los Angeles."**

"**Is the threat inside NCIS?"**

"**Outside," Gibbs said.**

"**What do you want me to do?"**

"**Follow her, and don't let her out of your sight. She knows too many languages for her own good and she can blend in anywhere, at anytime." **

**Ford took a deep breath preparing herself for the day of work ahead, and walked into NCIS L.A. She looked around for Hetty and found the short woman speaking with a large dark-skinned man.**

"**Hetty!" Ford called. Hetty stopped talking and looked up recognizing the voice. **

"**Director Ford!" Hetty said, walking over with the man and embraced Ford. "It is wonderful to see you again, my dear. This is Special Agent Sam Hanna." Ford shook Sam's hand.**

"**Pleased to meet you," Ford said.**

"**Likewise, Director," Sam said, politely. **

"**Sam! We got a… Oh," Callen said, coming over and he stuck out his hand. Ford shook it. Callen and Ford both received a slight shock when they touched, but neither reacted. "I'm G. Callen."**

"**Assistant Director Ford," Ford said. **

"**Good to have you aboard, so to speak," Ford smiled, understanding the Navy play on words. Their hands dropped. "Sorry for intruding, but I'll need to take Sam." Ford nodded her head and said,**

"**I wouldn't be much of a Director if I kept you from your job," She smiled. Callen's stomach dropped with her smile, and it made him smile back. Sam's eyebrow raised at Callen as he said,**

"**Nice to meet you Director," Callen said and walked away with Sam. Ford waited for the two of them to move out of hearing range.**

"**What happened to him?" Ford asked. Hetty giggled.**

"**I see your infallible intuition has not left you," Hetty said. Ford smiled. "he's had a rough life," Hetty answered and left it at that. "Come, let us get you situated in your office," **

"**Ugh, Hetty you know I hate offices."**

"**I remember. I remember you hate offices, parties, being confined in one room for too long, elevators, or anything else with four walls and a roof, and if you could, you would rather sleep outside in a sleeping bag than a bed."**

"**You have an infallible memory, Hetty." **

"**Infallible, no. Substantial, yes. Follow me," Hetty said. Ford cocked her head to the side and then followed the small woman up the stairs past Eric's lab where Callen's team was being debriefed by Director Vance. Callen caught her eye as she passed. **

**Ford and Hetty continued down the hallway to a door at the very end of it that said in black letters,**

**ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF NCIS**

**FORD**

Hetty opened the door and Ford gasped. It was a blue painted office, but it looked like it was outside, because the roof and the wall opposite the door was made out of glass, which gave an excellent view of the sky and the ocean. Several exotic plants were in the room, near the black desk, and the gray couch near the window.

"Hetty, this is amazing." Ford said, giving her the biggest smile she could muster.

Callen sat in his cat at an intersection in the left lane, two cars behind the Assistant Director. For the most of the day, Ford had stayed inside NCIS. The only time she came out of the building was to attend the funeral of a decorated fallen Marine. Callen had followed her then, just like he was following her now.

The Assistant Director had left NCIS around 18:30 hundred hours (6:30p.m.) and had drove a dark blue car to a small brown house on the outskirts of L.A., but it was still on the beach. Callen saw Ford go into the house with a black suit on, and she came back out then minutes later in loose khaki capris, brown sandals, a green tank top, a long black necklace, and her long hair tied up in a pony tail. She looked like a typical Angeleno, not like the Assistant Director of a federal agency. _She can blend in anywhere, at anytime. _Gibbs had said. _Gibbs was right. _he thought.

Callen was defiantly attracted to Ford, though he did not know why. He supposed she reminded him of himself in some ways. He had seen the sadness in her eyes; his own reflected it. Being a chameleon was definitely a similarity. Maybe there was some truth to Kensie's suspicions.

After Ford had left a beach house, She had driven along the shoreline back into the city where Callen was sitting now, at the intersection. Ford, then Callen, turned left with the light, and then immediately turned right into a small parking lot next to the beach. Ford then got out of her car, took off her sandals, throwing them into the car, and began to walk on the wet sand. Callen followed her at about 100 feet.

They walked for about twenty minutes along the shoreline. Callen wondered what exactly Ford was doing. He thought about approaching her, but he pushed the thought to the back of his mind. _Why the hell did you think of doing that?_ Callen told himself. _When has that _ever _been a good idea? _Callen shook his head, and continued to follow her. Ten minutes passed, then Ford sat down on a bench. It was approximately 20:00 hours (8:00 p.m.) and the sun was setting. Callen sat down at the bench a little ways away with a folded newspaper resting on it, but he made sure the Director could not see him. They sat for five minutes listening to the seagulls, the waves, and the other Angeleneos swimming in the water or playing or sleeping in the sand. A gray-haired, pot-bellied man, wearing jeans and a blue Hawaiian shirt who walked with a cane hobbled over and sat an the same bench as Ford. Callen stiffened, but did not do anything… yet.

The old man turned to Ford. "What's up, Ref?" the man said. Callen froze, then casually picked up the newspaper, opened it, then upholstered his gun hiding it behind the newspaper, aiming it at the old man's back. Ford smiled and looked sideways at the old man. "I haven't been called that in a really long time."

"To long of a time?" the man asked.

"You really expected me to sty after what happened in Somalia?"

"No one blames you for what you did. If anything, you're a hero."

"I blame me for I did," Ford said, turning to the man. He shook his head and said,

"Congrats on becoming the Assistant Director of NCIS." the man said.

"Thank you,"

"Did not expect you to go there."

"I like boats," Ford said. The man laughed.

"Yes, you do. You always had more sea legs than I ever did." the man said. For smiled. "I'm surprised that there are no bodyguards around. It's an usual occurrence with a Director of an Agency goes unprotected. Did you ditch them?" Ford shook her head.

"Nope. My protection detail is here," the man looked surprised.

"Where?"

"Bench to your right, holding up a newspaper to conceal the Sig pointed at you." Ford said, matter-of-fact-like. The man glanced around and his eyes met Callen's he turned back around to face Ford again.

"I must be getting soft in my old age. The kid seems surprised. You didn't ask him to protect you." the man inferred. Ford nodded her head. Callen resented being called a kid. "Vance's idea?"

"Nope."

"SECNAV's?" the man asked, and Ford laughed.

"Paltoni would prefer me dead. No he was asked by a friend."

"This 'friend' outranks you?"

"No. He's just worried about me."

"Why would he be worried about you?" the man asked. Ford paused, then she moved so she completely faced him. She caught Callen's eyes again with hers, then she looked to the old man.

"Miles is dead," she said. The old man looked away sadly.

"How long?"

"A month. I wish I could have told you earlier, but since you don't have a cell phone, home phone, computer, or a car, I wasn't able to contact you before now.

"Be happy I have a home address, Ref. Those new found electronic things can be easily traced. Is Miles why your friend is being cautious with your life?" the man asked. Ford nodded a yes. "Do you know who killed him?"

"Eliah."

"You are certain?" he asked.

"Bullet to the brain, four shots post-mortem to the back."

"Eliah's signature," the man nodded. "Then your friend has reason to fear for you."

"I don't know," Ford said, looking down.

"Tucker is missing, and Green is dead too," the man said. Ford's eyes snapped up, shocked.

"What?" she said, letting out her breath.

"Green was killed the same way as Miles, Ref. I forced myself to think it was a coincidence because I didn't want to believe Elian killed him, and I though Tuck had just left again, but now that Miles is dead…"

"Eliah is literally eliminating the program," Ford finished for him. "Have you contacted the others?" she asked.

"Yes, but I've received no word back."

"I will try as well," Ford said.

A blonde woman, who Callen had seen out of his peripheral vision, approached Ford and the man.

"Ah, it is time to go," the man said.

"Hello, Marley," Ford said.

"Hey, Ford. Congrats!"

"Thanks," Ford said, then she turned back to the old man. "It was good see you again, Mitch."

"Same to you, Ref," the man said. "Will you be around?" Ford nodded.

"But don't be alarmed if I disappeared for a month. I'll be in D.C."

"Such is the life of a Director. That's why I turned down the offer,"

"Twice, if I recall, " Ford said, holding up two finger. Mitch chuckled and got up.

"Stay safer, Ref."

"You too, Mitch," Ford said. Mitch walked away with the woman, past Callen, but he stopped right in front of him, and said,

"Keep her safe, Mister. You don't want to know what I will do to you if you don't," Mitch said, and walked away. Callen was too shocked to react to the threat.

Mitch and the blonde woman Ford had called Marley walked to the street and got into a black SUV and drove off. Callen, after a few moments to recover from shock, remoistened his gun, and realized he was shaking. _What the hell did I just hear?_ Callen thought. There were four things that Callen realized in the moment. One: The Director had a past where something bad happened. Two: She had been apart of another government agency. Three: Kensie was right. Four: Despite everything he just realized, he felt an unrelenting need to keep Ford safe.

Callen got up and sat down next to Ford. "How long did you know I had been following you?"

"I wasn't sure until you had followed me out of NCIS to the parking garage. Callen tutted.

"I'm not as good as I though I was." Ford shook her head.

"No, you're good. I'm just good, too." Ford said looking at Callen. They smiled after a moment.

"Does Director Vance know?" Callen asked. Ford nodded.

"How dangerous is this Eliah?"

"Very," Ford said.

"Who is he?"

Ford paused. "An old friend," she said.

"Why does an old friend want you dead?" Callen asked. Ford was silent for a good five seconds.

"I made controversial decision several years ago. Eliah disagreed and became angry. That's all I can say."

"And now because of this decision, Eliah wants to kill you?" Callen inferred. Ford nodded.

"Me and everyone else involved."

"Like Mitch?"

"Yes," Ford answered.

"How do you know Jethro Gibbs asked me to follow you?" Callen asked.

"Jethro told me he would ask an Agent named G. Callen for protection."

"Jethro? You know him?" Callen asked surprised.

"I don't know how many times I've saved his ass. But he's saved mine as well, more times than I care to count," she said, giving off a nervous laugh.

"Does Jethro know about Eliah?" Callen asked. Ford nodded.

"He's trying to track him down."

"You don't think he will?"

"It's nothing against Jethro. Eliah is just too good at what he does to get caught."

"So, you're just going to wait for him?"

"Eliah won't appear out of thin air and kill me; that's not his style. When he's ready, he'll try and rile me first."

"Why?"

"Because he hates me and he wants me to know how much he hates me."

"Why?" Callen asked, looking at Ford. Ford looked at him. "What did you do, to cause him to hate you so much?" Callen saw pain flash across her face and he immediately felt guilty for asking. Ford shook her head and looked away.

"I will allow you to follow Jethro's request. But do not do anymore than that and do not repeat anything you just heard." Ford said, getting up and she began to walk away. Callen jumped off the bench and caught up with her, grabbing her arm to stop her from walking away.

"Director, forgive me for being direct, but who are you? Where are you from?" he asked. Callen expected Ford to gasp rip her arm from his grasp, slam him then run off, but she didn't. Ford looked to the ocean and answered slowly.

"Like you, I've assumed many identities. As far as the government is concerned, I was a ghost for a very long time. But I have always been Ford." Callen did not know what she meant, nor did he know how to react. He was distracted by her eyes.

"Come on," he said, pulling her down the beach. "I'm talking you home."

"Jethro, are you sure?"

"Callen, she is more than capable of protecting herself in her own home. I just want you to protect her outside NCIS."

"Her home _is_ outside NCIS," Callen said, talking to Gibbs on his cell phone outside the Assistant Director's beach home.

"_Callen_…" Gibbs growled.

"I'm worried. I don't want to leave her alone."

"Callen, are you thinking of breaking Rule Number Twelve*?" Jethro said. Callen rolled his eyes.

"No," Callen said.

"Callen you know you can't lie to me,"

"Jethro, I don't want to leave her alone because she seems very convinced that this Eliah person is going to kill her. I also think she doesn't blame Eliah for _wanting_ to kill her." Callen said. Jethro paused for a moment.

"Why do you think that?"

"This is what she said, when I asked her if she thought that you couldn't catch Eliah, 'Eliah is just too good at what he does to get caught..' The next thing she said was, 'Eliah won't appear out of thin air and kill me; that's not his style. When he's ready, he'll try and rile me first.' She has resolved on the issue of whether or not she will or will not die by the hands of Eliah. She's accepted the fact that she my die soon, and I don't believe anyone should _ever _feel that way." Callen said, forcefully. Gibbs was silent for several moments.

"Stay with her," he said, then hung up the phone. Callen inwardly smiled and closed his phone and slipped it into his back pocket. Callen knocked on the door. Ford answered a few seconds later.

"Had enough of me yet, Callen?" she asked. Callen smirked, and said,

"I'm sleeping over." Ford cocked her head to the side, but then she moved aside to let him in. Callen walked into a mini-library.

"You may sleep in the bed in the room on the right," she said, gesturing off to the side to an oak door.

"No thank you, I prefer the couch."

"Too bad. I'm sleeping there," Ford said, closing the door.

"Then I'll just sleep on the floor."

"You don't like to sleep in beds?"

"Neither do you, apparently," Callen said looking down at her. Ford smiled and shook her head.

"Touché, Callen."

*** For those who do not know, Gibbs Rule 12 is do not date your coworkers.**


	3. Chapter 3: The Eyes

**Chapter 3: The Eyes**

**Vance and Gibbs were talking quietly at Gibbs' desk, so quietly that Tony, McGee, and Ziva, who were huddled around Ziva's desk, could not hear. Tony looked up at Vance.**

"**What do you think they're talking about?" he asked.**

"**Probably what they have been talking about for the past three weeks," Ziva answered.**

"**How much Gibbs needs to cut back on his coffee intake?" McGee guessed. Ziva and Tony simply looked at him like he was an idiot.**

"**No, Probie. Director Ford!" Tony said, whispering. "And something called Moonsteine."**

"**MOONSTONE, you mean," Ziva corrected.**

"**Whatever," Tony said.**

"**Tony, Gibbs asked me to get a file called MOONSTONE about two months ago. I never read it, but Gibbs said that Ford had given him permission to read it." McGee said. Tony looked at him, a worried/panicked expression on his face.**

"**I've only heard bits and pieces, but from what I've heard, Ford was apart of MOONSTONE, and many people connected to MOONSTONE have been turning up dead."**

"**Someone is after Director Ford?" Ziva conjectured. "Who would want to hurt her? She is a wonderful person!"**

"**She's also the Assistant Director of a government agency, which makes her a valuable target." McGee said. Tony, Ziva, and McGee looked at each other and Ziva asked,**

"**McGee, could you get that file again?"**

"**What file?" Ford said, from behind them. The three whipped around and saw Ford, standing in the bullpen with a very pretty, strapless, blue dress on. Tony and McGee's mouths dropped open in shock. **

"**Hoorah," Gibbs said. "I wonder who's going on a date?"**

"**Not me," Ford said. "There is a formal reception/dinner in two weeks in L.A. commemorating the veterans of World War Two, in which both Director Vance and I are attending, and apparently my dress must be approved by Leon." Ford said, turning to Vance. "So which dress will it be, the blue dress, the red dress, the black dress, or the green dress?" Ford asked. Vance was silent for a moment, then he said, **

"**The green one. It brings out your eyes." Ford looked at him oddly.**

"**But the green dress was the first one I tried on," she said.**

"**Yes?"**

"**So, when did you decide that I would be wearing the green dress?" Ford asked.**

"**When you put it on."**

"**Then why did you make me try on three other dresses?" **

"**I like looking at pretty women in dresses." Vance said, trying not to smile. Ford's eyes narrowed and she looked slightly pissed off.**

"**I'm calling your wife and telling her you said that," Ford said in a huff, turning on her heals and strutting angrily toward the staircase. Vance shook his head, smiling. **

"**Is she serious?" Gibbs asked.**

"**Unfortunately for me, yes," Vance said, laughing a little. Stuart, the mailman walked up to Ford as she was passing him.**

"**Oh! Director Ford, you have a package!" he said, and gave her the small brown cardboard box. Gibbs turned back to Vance.**

"**Eliah is becoming more active."**

"**How is he finding the agents involved in MOONSTONE?" Vance asked.**

"**Ford said that they had safe houses all around the world. Eliah knows of them. Ford has attempted to contact each of the agents, but she's only gotten about three responses back." Gibbs said.**

"**I'll have Ford get the three agents to D.C. I want them all under protection," Vance said. Gibbs nodded his head.**

**Suddenly Ford shrieked. Gibbs', Vance's McGee's, Tony's, and Ziva's heads snapped up to the stair case and they saw Ford with her left hand over her mouth, and her right hand holding the package as far away from her as possible. They all ran up the stair case.**

"**Ford, what happened?" Ziva asked, getting there first. She looked into the package and nearly gagged. "Oh my God," Ziva said.**

"**Ford, what is…" Gibbs said, getting there second. The rest of the agents got there immediately afterwards, and all had the same reaction as Ziva as they looked into the package and saw a pair of bight green, disembodied, eyes. **

"**Do you know whose eyes those belong too?" Vance asked Ford in his office. Gibbs was there as well, but standing off to the side.**

"**They belong to Jacobi." Ford said, closing her eyes.**

"**You are certain?"**

"**He was the only other in MOONSTONE with green eyes." Ford said. Gibbs looked at Ford, half glaring, though not at her. **

"**Ford, why would Eliah send you eyes?" he asked. "He's never sent you body parts before. Why now?"**

"**As Callen has told you. He's trying to rile me."**

"**Sending green eyes is a good why to make someone paranoid. Particularly when you also have green eyes."**

"**We are in agreement then; Eliah is trying to scare me." **

"**You don't seem scared," Vance observed. Ford stiffened then realized. She didn't say anything and left Vance's office. Gibbs and Vance shared a knowing glance and Gibbs left Vance's office too. He looked around for Ford and saw her getting into the elevator. **_**Oh no. **_**He thought, and quickly jogged to the elevator and jumped in just before the doors closed. **

"**I know you don't like elevators."**

"**So?" Ford said, as the elevator began to move down.**

"**So then why are you torturing yourself by being in one?" It was silent for a good three seconds before Gibbs hit the emergency stop button that shut the elevator down. He turned to his right and looked down at the Assistant Director. Ford was tense, like something was going to attack her, but she diligently looked up at him. Gibbs normally cold heart broke when he saw the pained expression on her face, and he caught a glimpse of a scared little girl; his daughter, Kelly. Ford made a high-pitched, choking noise from the back of her throat, she gasped, then she let loose the tears she had been holding back for a long time. Gibbs wrapped his arms around her, comfortingly. Ford cried for a minute longer before she wiped her eyes with her hand. She was shaking like a leaf and she was freezing. **

"**I'm sorry," Ford said, sniffling. **

"**You can cry in front of me, Ford," Gibbs said. "And don't----"**

"**Don't apologize. It's a sign of weakness, I know," Ford said, miserably. Gibbs chuckled and then pushed Ford away slightly so he could see her. Her eyes were red and slightly puffy from the tears, but she seemed almost relieved. **

"**Better?" Gibbs asked. Ford nodded. "Why are you so scared of him?" **

"**I'm not scared."**

"**Yes you are, Ford. I can see it every time another body shows up." Ford looked like she would cry again but, much to Gibbs' relief, she did not. "Why, Ford?" Gibbs asked. "Why you? I understand why he disagreed with the decision you made in Somalia, but that gives him no reason to want to kill you," Gibbs said. "There is more to the story, isn't there?" Ford swallowed, but she remained silent. Gibbs shook his head, then hit the power button, the lights flew back on and the elevator shuttered back to life. Gibbs hit the button that would take him to autopsy. A few seconds later, Ford killed the power, and the elevator groaned to a halt again. Gibbs turned back to Ford. **

"**Yes?" he said, slowly. **

"**Eliah and I were close," Ford said a new confidence in her voice. "We had come to MOONSTONE together from D.C. We trained together under Mitch. When I made the decision I did in Somalia, it upset him, a lot, but he knew that if he had been in my position, he would have made the same one," Ford said.**

"**So, what was the problem?" **

"**He… The Director had been threatening to boot him from the program," Ford went on. "Eliah has never played by the rules. He would always screw someone important over or he would leave loose ends untied, but he would get the job done and that's the only reason why the Director of the CIA never kicked him out in the first place, but after my decision, Eliah started having thoughts about leaving. He told me that what I did had made him realize his own mortality, and he wanted to live outside MOONSTONE. I told him it wasn't a good idea. I mean, MOONSTONE had been his life and he had never lived outside the protection of MOONSTONE. He would have gone crazy in real life. After that he wouldn't speak to me. He became more and more withdrawn, and eventually he wouldn't speak to anybody. He started severely messing up assignments, then he eventually stopped doing them all together. Three weeks after he locked himself in a room, he came out and nearly killed the Director, and then he ran. I was told to terminate Eliah."**

"**Eliah was still alive. You couldn't go through with killing him," Gibbs inferred. Ford shook her head. **

"**I went to talk to him. I tried to convince him that I had been wrong and I… I told him we could run away and leave MOONSTONE together, but he wouldn't listen to me, and then he shot me."**

"**Wait a minute? He shot you? Where?" Gibbs asked, confused.**

"**Three times in the stomach," Ford said. "He had realized what he had done, and he tried to help me, but I shot him back twice in the chest." Ford said, exasperated and her pained expression made Gibbs want to make her stop reliving the memory. Ford's hand unconsciously traveled over her stomach as she remembered being shot. **

"**How did you get out alive?" Gibbs asked.**

"**Mitch had followed me just in case what happened, actually happened. He said that Eliah was dead."**

"**He lied?"**

"**No, he didn't lie. He believed that Eliah had died. He had been more concerned with me than Eliah and he stayed with me when I had been taken to the hospital. Agents from MOONSTONE confirmed he had been dead," Ford said, removing her hand from her stomach. "For five years, Gibbs, I was so sure Eliah was dead." Ford was silent for a moment. "It is possible to survive multiple shots to the chest." **

"**Yeah, but it's really hard to."**

"**Callen managed it," Ford said absentmindedly. Gibbs cocked his head to the side and looked at her oddly. **

"**What's up with you and Callen?" he asked smiling slightly. Ford's eyes narrowed suspiciously at Gibbs, then she hit the elevator's power button and it started moving again. **

"**Why do you think there is something going on?" **

"**Because," Gibbs started and he shut down the elevator again. "Whenever Callen talks about you, he's happy, and you've mentioned him twice in the past five minutes." **

"**How does me mentioning Callen twins in the past… Wait, you two talk about me?" Ford asked, changing the subject. Gibbs was silent for a moment, then he started the elevator back up. **

"**Nuh uh," Ford said, shutting down the elevator. "Your not getting out of this. Why are you and Callen talking about me?" Gibbs paused for a moment before he gave into Ford's demand. **

"**He----"**

"_**He?**_**"**

"**We," Gibbs grumpily corrected himself. "Are worried about you."**

"**Okay, what about me do you talk about?"**

"**That you're a pain in the ass when you want information," Gibbs retorted.**

"**That's good thing. You have no room to complain, Jethro." Ford said. Gibbs gave her a look, then he hit the power button. Ford rolled her eyes, but didn't do anything. **

**The doors to autopsy opened and Gibbs and Ford walked out. Ford inwardly breathed out a sigh of relief. She was finally out of the cold, small. Confined space of the elevator. **

"…**and the man simply jumped!" Ducky said, looming over an open body with Mr. Palmer on the opposite side of the table. **

"**Are you sure he didn't simply misunderstand his girlfriend, Doctor?" **

"**Oh, no, Mr. Palmer, I think he understood his lover perfectly," Ducky said, smiling and chuckling. Palmer joined him in laughing as well. **

"**What do you have on the eyes, Duck?" Gibbs asked.**

"**Ah, well, these green eyes have been disembodied, well enough, but there is not evidence to suggest mortality, and these eyes have distended far beyond normal capacity which does not happen post-mortem." Ducky said. Gibbs and Ford shared a 'I- have- no- idea- what- he- just- said' look.**

"**Doctor Mallard, can you clarify your meaning?" Ford asked.**

"**Of course, Director, and please, call me Ducky."**

"**Ducky," Ford said, smiling.**

"**Ducky…" Gibbs said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. **

"**Ah, yes. The eyes. Eyes, or any other part of the body, cannot swell when they body has died. What I am saying is the man these eyes are so gruesomely torn out from, was alive when they were taken from his skull." Ducky said. Ford's mouth opened in shock.**

"**He is alive?"**

"**Well, I can't say he is alive now, but he was certainly alive yesterday." Ford and Gibbs practically chased each other back to the elevator. Ducky looked surprised by their sudden exiting. Mr. Palmer simply shrugged. **

"**You are sure?" Gibbs asked.**

"**Yes. This is the safe house Jacobi was staying in," Ford said. She had changed into jeans, a pain blue shirt, and a loose black jacket. Both Gibbs and Ford had bullet-proof vests on and their guns drawn and pointed to the blood trail that led from the house and stopped right beyond the stone walkway that led to the door. **

**Gibbs knocked on the door. "Federal Agents!" He shouted. They were silent for a moment, listening for any movement. Gibbs looked to Ford, and she nodded quickly, giving him the go-ahead to go in. Gibbs kicked down the door. He looked around the green front room, and shouted "Clear!" when he saw nothing. Ford opened the adjoining room on the right of the front room.**

"**Clear!" She said. Gibbs moved the front room to the kitchen. There was a trail of blood from the kitchen to the front door. Gibbs stopped when he saw what was in there. **

"**Ford, get in here," He said. She came in behind him and saw that he was looking at a bloody mess. A chair was in the center of the kitchen with four pairs of handcuffs, cuffed to each of the arms and legs. There was blood all over it. Gibbs looked to the counter near the sink and saw an unopened letter resting on it. It was addressed to Ford.**

"**Ford," he said to her, talking Ford out of the trance she had been in. Gibbs jerked his head in the direction of the letter. Ford looked from the letter, back to Gibbs, then she slowly made her way, careful not to step in the blood smears, toward the letter. She opened it and read it aloud. **

"**Ford," she began. "If you are reading this the you haven't lost your touch, but first things first, congratulations of becoming the Assistant Director of NCIS. I hope you are enjoying the position. Jacobi is alive, for now. I am giving you the chance to save him because I want to know if you are still as good as you used to be, and I know how much you liked him. E." Ford finished and all but crumpled the note into a ball with frustration. "He has gone absolutely insane!" Ford exclaimed. **

"**Why did Eliah say you liked Jacobi?" Gibbs asked. **

"**Jacobi and I are good friends nothing more. Eliah always teased us for being close."**

"**He was jealous," Gibbs said.**

"**Probably. But I knew better than to get involved with a co-worker." **

"**Do you know that now?" Gibbs asked.**

"**What difference does it make?" Ford said, looking at him suspiciously. Gibbs looked away smirking. "Are you talking about Callen?" **

"**And you," Gibbs said. Ford looked away, her mouth open, then she looked back toward him. **

"**Are you suggesting that I break Rule Number Twelve?"**

"**No," Gibb corrected. "I'm saying that you should figure out if you want to." Ford looked at him confused, but shook her head. "Where could Eliah taken Jacobi?" Gibbs asked, abruptly changing he subject. Ford shook her head. **

"**I don't know," Ford said. "Eliah will have taken him somewhere Eliah would be comfortable."**

"**Where are places that made him feel safe?" Gibbs asked. **

"**Uh, his room. That, we can rule out. Anywhere outside, but outside is too compromised. He often went to the skate at Burns Park to cool off if the job got rough…" Ford said, but then a knowing look crossed her face. "Oh my God, Eliah used to skateboard." **

"**Skateboard?" Gibbs asked, confused. **

"**You know, four wheels mounted to a piece of plywood?"**

"**Oh, a scooter." **

"**Uh, yeah, like a scooter," Ford said, deciding to leave it at that. "Eliah used to skateboard at Burns Park all the time, Jethro. There is an old gardening shed that no one ever went in or used at that park."**

"**You think Eliah took him there?" Gibbs asked.**

"**The road to the park is rarely traveled, the park is barely used, the road takes you right behind the shed, and in the dead of night, you can't see a thing; it's the perfect cover!" Ford exclaimed, excitedly.**

"**Let's go," Gibbs said, and they bolted out of the house. **

"**Where could they be?" Ziva asked, worriedly. **

"**Gibb said they would be back, relax, Ziva," Tony said. McGee was at his own computer, running through the files inside the National Security Database. **

"**Come on!" McGee said, exasperated. **

"**What's wrong, McGoogle?" Tony asked.**

"**MOONSTONE is gone!" he exclaimed angrily. **

"**Are you sure you were looking in the right place?" Ziva asked. McGee gave her a look.**

"**I remember every file check I do; it was here!"**

"**What was where?" Director Vance asked from the stairs above McGee.**

"**Uh… My… stapler. I… need it to staple a file and I think Abby took it," McGee lied and, after turning off his computer, he all but ran to the elevator. Vance shook his head and looked at Tony, who gave him an awkward smile. **

"**Where is Gibbs? He's been gone for nearly four hours with Director Ford." Vance asked.**

"**We do not know." Ziva said.**

"**Track his cell phone, now." he ordered. Ziva entered Gibbs cell phone into NCIS' tracking system. She gawked when she saw where he was.**

"**He's in the building," Ziva said.**

"**Call him," Vance ordered again. Ziva picked up her desk phone and dialed Gibbs' number. **

"**Yes?" Gibbs answered.**

"**Where are you?" Ziva asked.**

"**Well, in about five seconds, I'll be right behind you, Miss David." Gibbs said, much o Ziva's surprise. Gibbs hung up. Right on time, Gibbs and Ford walked out the elevator five seconds later, guiding a blonde-haired, tall young man with a bloodied white strip of cloth across his eyes. **

**Vance saw the man ad immediately came down the stairs to greet him. **

"**Agent Jacobi?" Vance called out to the blonde man. The man looked up, but he was unsure of where Vance's voice came from.**

"**Ye…Yes?"**

"**It's okay, Jacobi," Ford cooed. "This is the Director of NCIS, Leon Vance."**

"**Director Vance," Jacobi said, holding out a shaking hand aimlessly. "Pleased to meet you."**

"**The pleasure is all mine, Agent Jacobi," Vance said, shaking Jacobi's hand. "Come, let's talk in my office," Vance said. Ford walked slowly with Jacobi up the stairs, guiding the blind man the entire way. He held on to her like a lifeline. Gibbs watched them disappear into Vance's office, then he turned to Tony and Ziva whose features were etched in surprise and shock. **

"**What?" Gibbs asked, annoyed that they were staring at him.**

"**Is that the man the eyes Director Ford was sent belong too?" Tony asked. **

"**I think, technically, that they eyes belong to the man, Tony," Ziva corrected.**

"**Whatever," Tony said, and turned to Gibbs for the answer. **

"**You think, DiNozzio?" **


	4. Chapter 4: Right and Wrong

Chapter 4: Right and Wrong

_Callen, Sam, and Kensie were sitting at their desks. Nate and Eric were standing by Kensie's desk. Sam was cleaning his weapon. Callen was impatiently tapping his fingers on his desk. Kensie's head was resting on top of her hands and she was continuously blowing a stream of air at the piece of hair that had escaped her pony tail and had fallen in front of her face. Eric was counting the number of people who walked by the desk, and Nate was reading a small file. Callen kept looking up at the clock, at Nate, then Eric, then Kensie, a side glance at Sam, his own desk, then back to the clock again. Sam had noticed this pattern ten minutes before, and was getting annoyed with it. _

"_What is up, Callen?" he finally asked, five minutes later. _

"_It's ten thirty," Callen said. The other agents looked up to listen to first conversation of the morning._

"_What's wrong with it being ten thirty?"_

"_Director Ford is not here."_

"_You mean, Director Ford and Director Vance are not here," Sam corrected. _

"_What? Why is Vance coming?" Callen asked._

"_The dinner honoring World War Two veterans. Both Vance and Ford are going. It's tonight." _

"_Oh, right," Callen said. "But this gives them all the more reason to not be late, but they are late." _

"_Relax," Sam cooed. "Vance called Hetty, who called me before you came. The Directors' plane is late."_

"_They are flying on a plane they borrowed from the FBI, in perfect weather condition. There is no reason for it to be late---- Wait, why did Hetty call you instead of me?"_

"_Your phone is off, Mr. Callen," Hetty said, scaring the team, partially hidden behind Nate. _

"_Whoa! Hetty, you've got to stop doing that," Nate said. _

"_I find that being unpredictable is a virtue, Nate," Hetty said, confusing everyone. "Mr. Callen, may I speak with you?" she asked, but it was a command. Callen got up and followed the small woman out of the teams hearing range._

"_I can see that you are unsettled by the absences of the Directors," she said. Callen shook his head. _

"_I don't like it. Flights carrying citizens of their status do not get delayed."_

"_Neither do I," Hetty said. "I have confirmation from the airport that there plane has landed."_

"_Traffic wasn't too bad this morning and the airport is ten minutes from here." _

"_So, what are they doing?" Hetty asked. Callen looked at her, oddly. _

"_You don't know?"_

"_No, do you?"_

"_No, but I know what they're doing involves," Callen said, thinking of when he had followed Ford to the beach. _

Directors Vance and Ford got out of a long van that just stopped on the side of the road. They walked down to the beach of Los Angeles, and sat down on a wooden bench; the same bench Callen had followed Ford to, a month before. The Director's were dressed more casually. No one who didn't know them, would suspect they were responsible for running a federal agency.

"How many of them will show?" Vance asked.

"Hopefully, all of them," Ford said back.

"But that is not what is going to happen?" Vance inferred form Ford's sorrowful tone. Ford nodded her head.

"Half probably do not know what is going on. The other half that does know what is happening, half of them do not believe it. The other half of that, half do not think Eliah would hut them, and the other quarter would not be willing to go back into the government's care."

"How many do you think will come?" Vance asked. Ford shrugged her shoulders.

"Two at the very most."

Ford was wrong. Five people climbed out of a black SUV and walked down to the Directors; Mitch and Marley amongst them. A tall, red head man pulled Ford up by her hand and engulfed her in a hug.

"Ford! I have not seen you in five years! It is so good to see you again!'

"Good to see you too, Quinn!" Ford said, her voice muffled. Quinn let her go and a black woman with blue eyes gently hugged Ford. "Carlson! I missed you!" Ford said, happily.

"And I as well!" Carlson said, then a black haired woman also with blue eyes held out a gloved hand. Ford raised an eyebrow, shaking her hand. "Still a germ-a-phobe, Kells?"

"Of course, Ford!" Kells said, smiling. Ford smiled back. Ford hugged Marley.

"Marley, good to see you again," Ford said. Marley simply smiled warmly. Mitch shook Ford's hand and asked,

"Shall we go then?"

"Yes, we shall," Vance said.

"Oh, I am sorry," Ford said. "Marley, Mitch, Quinn, Carlson, Kells, this is the Director of NCIS, Leon Vance." A round of handshakes and awkward greetings ensued.

"Where will we go now?" Quinn asked.

"You will be temporarily transported back to NCIS Los Angeles. Then you will be flown to D.C. where you will be taken to a safe house the location of which only Ford and I know."

"How can we know it is safe?"

"Trust me," Ford said, truthfully. "You'll be safe."

_Ford, Vance, and the five others walked through the front doors of NCIS LA, and Ford was directing them where to walk . Callen was the first to notice the Directors' return. "Director Ford and Director Vance, good to have you back again. Safe and sound, I might add," Callen said. Vance looked at him suspiciously and Ford smiled at him, but she turned to the five others, two of which Callen recognized as Marley and Mitch, and said,_

"_Come on. You will be staying in a conference room until you leave with Director Vance later tonight." Ford turned to the staircase and walked with the five people there. Callen watched the Assistant Director ascend the stairs and felt a pang of jealously when the red haired man made her laugh._

"_Callen… Callen!" Vance barked, snapping Callen out of his trance._

"_What? Oh… Sorry, Director Vance?"_

"_You know why I am here?" Vance asked, slightly amused._

"_Yes. You and Director Ford are honoring World War Two veterans in the Convention Center at 1600 hours (4:00 p.m.)." _

"_Correct. I would like your team to be our protection detail."_

"_Of course, Sir."_

"_Good. Since you seem to not be able to keep your eyes off of Director Ford, stay with her. Do not leaver her alone," Vance ordered, smirking slightly. Callen felt embarrassed, but he did not show it. _

"_Yes, Sir."_

Hours later, Callen, Sam, and Kensie had changed into all black suits and were waiting with Hetty, who was wearing a long-sleeved, very dark blue, practically black, dress, and Vance, who was wearing a tuxedo. They were waiting for Director Ford.

"Women take forever to get ready," Vance grumbled. Sam and Callen snorted quietly, Kensie just gave them a look, and Hetty looked affronted.

"Excuse me, Leon? Am _I _not a woman?" Hetty asked. Vance immediately regretted his remark.

"Now, Hetty… I didn't mean _all _women take forever to get dressed."

"Just the ones that help run government agencies?" Hetty helped.

"Yes."

"_I _help run a government agency," Hetty said. Vance opened his mouth to retaliate, but then he stopped himself, when we saw Hetty's stern face.

"Oh, no, what did you do to make Hetty angry?" Ford said, from half way down the steps, and both Callen's and Sam's mouths subsequently dropped.

The Assistant Director was wearing a short-sleeved, v-necked, emerald silk dress that came to her knees, with a small gold bracelet, chained waist belt, small necklace, and shoes to set off the green of the dress. She wasn't wearing much makeup, and her long hair had been softly curled.

"What?" Ford asked, walking down the rest of the stairs, looking at Callen. He opened, then closed his mouth, but he couldn't say, or think, a thing.

"That dress better not get me in trouble," Vance said, pointing at her. Ford raised an eyebrow.

"_This _dress was your idea, and it already got you in trouble, unless your wife has given you access to the bed?"

"No, I'm still banned to the couch, no thanks to you."

"You walked yourself right into that problem, Leon." Ford corrected, smiling. Vance thought to retaliate, but thought better of it. "Are we going to go, or what?" Ford said, and led the group out of the doors. Callen couldn't keep his eyes off of her.

" _El malei rachamim. Shokhein ba-m'roemim. Ha'm'tzei m'nukha n' kanfei HaShekhinah. B'ma-alot k'doshim u'tohorim k'zohar ha-rakeeyah mzheerim Et nishmat Dara bat Dara und Deter. Sheh halkhah et olama b-ah-vore she anahnu mitpah-l'lim b'ad hazkarat nishmatah, b'gan Ayden T'hay mnukhatah. La-kheyn baal ha Rachamim, yastireyha b'seyter knahfayv l'olamim. V'yitzror beet-tzror ha-hayim et nishmahtah. Adonai hi nakhalatah. V'tahnu-ahk b'shalom al mishkavah. V'nomar ameyn. __This is vhat ve vould have sung at my mother's funeral, if the Nazi's had not gotten to us first," Josef Lebedev said, singing in in Hebrew, before all of the spectators in the crowd. _

_Josef talked about how Nazis had chased him and his three sisters for five days across Germany, before Josef got his sisters across the border to France, but then he was caught and sent to Auschwitz. He had been shot in the stomach, and somehow lived. Ford had been sitting in the middle row with Director Vance. When Josef said he had been shot in the stomach, the same place she had been shot by Eliah, she instinctively covered her stomach with her hand, and she mentally transported herself to that night._

"Shut UP!" Eliah had yelled at her.

"E, listen to me----"

"NO! You listen Ford! Don't you see what they did to us?" He yelled, walking around the abandoned warehouse, pointing a gun at her. "They've turned us into monsters!"

"No one has turned you into a monster," Ford said, calmly.

"But look at what I've done!" Eliah screamed, half crying. "I've killed people! I've sold out my body for information-----"

"All for your country."

"No, it wasn't for the United States, Ford," he spat, spinning in circles. "It was for them!" "MOONSTONE works for the United States. Anything you do for MOONSTONE, you do for the US."

"But it's WRONG!" he screamed, his voice ripping through the air. It hurt Ford to see him so distressed. "You MURDERED 607 people, Ford! 607 innocent people!"

"In my position you would have made the same choice," Ford said, quietly.

"They were children! Mothers! Fathers! Uncles, aunts, friends, lovers! You don't know who you killed!"

"I don't know who I saved either!" Ford said, finally losing her temper. "I do not deny that 592 of them were innocent, but it was either 607 people or 70 million. Take your pick, Eliah!" Ford yelled. Eliah, shrunk away from her and backed away. Ford took a step forward, and Eliah pointed the gun shakily at her again.

"Eliah, they don't really want you dead. Come back. Talk to them. Tell Director Wilhelm that you want out of the program."

"But you said that was impossible," Eliah said, confused.

"I was wrong, Eliah," Ford, said.

"No. No, I can't go back," Eliah said,

"Then come with me."

"What?" he said, lowering his guard slightly.

"Eliah, you are leaving this warehouse with me. Either we are going back to Langley, or I know a place we can stay. No one will find us there," Ford said.

"Not even Mitch?" Eliah asked, tentatively, not truly believing her.

"Mitch doesn't know about it. I swear," Ford said, stepping closer to him. Eliah hastened back, pointing the weapon at her. Ford held up her hands.

"E, I'm not going to hurt you. I don't want to," she said, and she slowly flipped her hand around, offering it to Eliah to take. Eliah looked from her hand, to her holstered weapon, then up to her eyes. A few moments of silence passed of Ford trying to get close enough to Eliah to take his gun and walk him out of the warehouse. Ford inched closer and closer. Finally she was within an inch of the gun, when----

"NO! YOU'RE LIEING!" Eliah screamed, and jerked backwards away from her, his face fill of anger and pain.

"No, E. I'm telling the tr----" Ford started, but then her voice was drowned out by three rapid gunshots.

Excruciating pain erupted in her abdomen. It felt like her skin was on fire and her insides were in a pressure cooker. Something thick and wet was pouring from her stomach as Ford fell back with the force of being shot three times. She coughed once, and the pain intensified, and she cried out. Ford's ears were ringing. Everything was loud. Her vision was blurry and she hurt everywhere. She felt weak, out of breath, and traumatized. Here arms felt light, but the rest of her body felt heavy as lead. Everything was spinning. She didn't know quite where she was, but her senses were heightened.

"Ford! Oh my God, Ford! I am----" but Eliah never got a word in afterwards. At the sound of Eliah's voice, she had recognized it as his, but he was not a friend at the point in time, but a threat. She was on the ground, bleeding, shot, and he was coming toward her with the gun. Ford had upholstered her weapon and fired her weapon twice, straight at Eliah's chest.

Eliah fell down to the ground. Ford lifted her head up to see his unmoving form and she screwed her eyes up in pain, both physical and emotional, dropped her gun, and began to cry.

_Ford nearly burst into tears remembering that cold October night in DC. Suddenly everyone around her was clapping and stood up around her. She followed suit, wiping escaping tears from her eyes. The honoring part was done. Now it was time for the food. Ford's stomach growled with pleasure at the thought of food. She hadn't eaten in the past two days; she had been arranging the safe house---- or to be more specific, the safe-boat---- for the five people that were now under NCIS protection. _

"_Ford, are you okay?" Callen asked, as Vance and Sam, Hetty and Kensie, and Callen and Ford made their way back to the food. _

"_I am fine. Why do you ask?" _

"_You haven't been paying attention to the ceremony," He said, guiding her away from the delicious smelling rolls of bread, salad, lasagna, pasta, and fish that sat at a long buffet table. Callen's back faced the food, which forced to face the food, which she looked longingly at, but she decided to appease Callen._

"_I've been distracted," she admitted. _

"_By the five people that came in today?" Callen inferred. Ford looked at him oddly._

"_Yes." _

"_So who are they?" Callen asked._

"_Possible next targets for Eliah. Director Vance and I are attempting to round everybody up."_

"_I see," Callen said, looking away from her. Ford looked at him closely. _You worry too much, my friend. _she thought. She identified with Callen easily. They both had hard lives starting out. Neither knew their parents. Callen moved from foster home to foster home weekly sometimes daily, and she… well, she was swept out of her orphanage and put into strange hands too. They both have been too many people to count. She probably more than him in some ways. She had been Alexandra Srjorun in Russia. Luma Zihad in Egypt, Sarah Eignmann in Germany, Elaine Gerard in France, Alanna Helpher in Israel, Rae Dartman in Italy, Marie Liverpool in England, Sara Zigfree in Saudi Arabia, Meira Yri in Iraq, Nikki Yri in Afghanistan… _

_SHOOSSHH-ping!_

_Callen automatically knocked Ford to the floor and covered her body with his the moment he heard the sound of a rifle going off and the bullet missed Ford and embedded itself in the column behind them. Ford got a quick whiff of the spicy sent that Callen had, and she temporarily did not know where she was._

"_Ford!" Callen yelled. Ford shook her self out of her trance and she said,_

"_I'm fine, are you okay?" Callen nodded his head, and he looked up trying to see Sam. _

"_Sam! Kensie!"_

"_Director Vance is good!"_

"_I knocked Hetty out, but she's fine!" _

"_Find the gun man!" Callen shouted out. _

"_Stay with Ford, Callen!" Vance said, somewhere to Callen's right. "That had to have been Eliah!" _

"It wasn't Eliah," Ford said, sitting on Callen's desk. She had changed into a nice shirt, jeans, and gym shoes. Vance was leaning on Kensie's desk across from her. Hetty was still unconscious, but lying on the couch. Callen was leaning on his own desk, next to Ford. They were both trying not to react to the fact that their arms were touching. Sam was sitting at his desk. Kensie was holding an icepack to her head and was walking around the four stationary people.

"Ford, I understand you liked the guy, and he was your friend, but he is trying to kill you. That was him!" Vance said.

"Leon, you know I respect you opinions, but it wasn't him."

"Who else would want to kill you then?" Vance asked, venting slightly. Ford didn't respond. Suddenly they heard the whistle from Eric.

"What do you got, Eric?" Callen yelled out.

"Got a hit on the get-away-vehicle. It was stolen from a Mr. Jordan Parker, two months ago."

"How does that help us?" Sam asked.

"Because the black SUV that was the get-away-car, has GPS," Eric said, smiling. Callen smiled as well.

"Where is it?"

"Stationary, residing at 1496 Flemmingfield Road."

_Sam kicked open the door and Callen and Kensie came in, guns drawn. "NCIS!" they yelled, and moved quickly through the white house. Suddenly, a head poked out from the hallway they were moving through. It was a man about the age of 27 with blonde hair. The moment he saw the NCIS agents, he ran the other way. Sam easily over took him, and took him to the ground. Kensie heard noises room from an adjoining room, and both she and Callen opened up the door, and saw another man trying to unsuccessfully climb out of the window. Callen easily pulled back into the house, and dragged him to the were Sam had the other man in handcuffs, kneeling on the ground. _

"_Who are you?"_

"_F--k you!" they said in unison. Callen stuck his gun in their faces, and the 27 year old swallowed and said, "I'm Jerry. He's Tom." Sam and Kensie shared a look._

"_Do Tom and Jerry have a last name?" Sam asked. The boys were silent._

"_I'm tired of the cat and mouse," Callen said, and Kensie snorted slightly. "Do you know who you shot at today?" _

"_Whoa, whoa, whoa, we didn't shoot nobody!" Tom said. _

"_He didn't say you shot somebody, he said you shot _at _somebody, moron." Kensie said._

"_Well, if we didn't kill anybody, we're okay? Right?" Jerry asked. Callen rolled his eyes frustrated._

"_No, dumbass. You shot at the head of a federal agency."_

"_What? We shot at the CIA? FBI?" Tom asked, slightly excited. Sam pulled Tom up by the scruff of his sweatshirt and growled._

"_Try NCIS."_

Callen found Ford sitting outside her home on the beach, far enough away that the water did not soak her, but close enough that it rolled over her bare feet. The moon was full and bright enough to illuminate their surroundings and the view she had from her back yard was gorgeous, but Callen wasn't too interested in the ocean when he sat down next to Ford.

"Did you know, that some old cultures used to worship the moon?"

"No, I did not."

"It's true. They though that the phases of the moon related to the life cycles of all living beings. In some places, food was even laid out at night because it was thought to absorb the rays of the moon, so when the villagers would eat the food, they would be cured of diseases. Now that I think about it. If I had been alive then, and there was no technology to combat any theories, I would probably be worshiping the moon too," Ford said. Callen glanced up at the round, white orb that hung in the sky, and he immediately felt the same way.

After a moment, Callen said,

"It wasn't Eliah." Ford breathed out, loudly. "How did you know?" he asked.

"E wouldn't have missed," she said, and Callen felt a tightening in his chest as and image of Ford lying motionless on the ground, a bullet in her forehead was conjured in his mind. Ford turned to him, but she didn't say anything. She simply smiled, and put her hand over his hand. Callen didn't think twice about entwining his fingers with hers.


	5. Chapter 5: Home

Homes

"Okay people, we need a plan." Tony whispered quietly to Ziva and McGee. They were huddled around McGee's desk.

"To do what?" Ziva asked. Tony opened his mouth to say what, but then he closed it.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"No. But we need to find out more about this MOONST-" WHACK went Tony's head.

"Stop conspiring and start working." Gibbs said, entering the bullpen.

"Yes Boss!" They said together, and then went to their respective desks. Ziva opened up a window on her computer and began randomly typing. Tony put his gun in the desk, and McGee began to search through files on his desk. Slowly and surly, they realized that Gibbs had not told them want to do, and one by one, they looked up confused.

"What?" Gibbs said, sitting down.

"You haven't told us what to do," Ziva said. Gibbs looked sideways at McGee, who looked away.

"McGee, Ziva,"

"Yes, Boss?" they asked together.

"The Assistant Director is going for a walk," Gibbs said.

"Uh, Boss, I don't think that's a good idea," McGee said, nervously.

"Well, neither do I, but you know how stubborn she can be. You two are on protection detail."

"When is she leaving?"

"Right now," Ford said, from the stairway above. She was wearing jeans, a black shirt, and a black leather jacket. Ziva and McGee shared a, "What the hell?" look, but then they both took their guns out of there desk drawers and they joined the Assistant Director when she passed the Bullpen.

"What do you want me to do, boss?" Tony asked. Gibbs waited for Ford, Ziva, and McGee to get on the elevator, and when the doors closed, he turned to Tony, leaning on his desk.

"DiNozzio," Gibbs said,

"What did I do?" Tony asked worriedly.

"You didn't do anything," he said, then he reached into his jacket and pulled out a large tan file and slapped it onto the desk. Tony looked nervously down at it.

"What is this?"

"I'm going to ask you for something that I will probably never ask for again," Gibbs said, ignoring Tony's question.

"Boss, I am not going down to Mexico to baby-sit Mike Franks. The last time I did that, he gave me a headache that didn't go away for two weeks."

"I need your help," Gibbs asked.

"Boss, I just said that I'm not going down to Mex-" Tony started, but then Gibbs smacked him in the back of the head.

"You're not listening. I need your help," Gibbs said. Tony finally heard him and he looked at Gibbs like he had three heads.

"Are you okay, boss?" he finally asked.

"No, I'm not DiNozzio. Someone is trying to kill Director Ford, and I can't find him."

"Him? How do you… Gibb's what's going on?"

"Read this," Gibbs said, pointing to the file. "This is Ford's entire life before she worked for NCIS, from the day she was born, up to when she became the Assistant Director. A man named Eliah is trying to kill her and others from her past."

"Is this what you've been working on for the past few months?" Tony asked, bringing the file closer to him.

"Yes. Eliah is good. I can't track him down by myself. I need your help." Gibbs said. It went against Gibb's nature to ask for help, but he knew that his pride was not worth Ford's life. Tony looked up at Gibbs and he was silent for a moment, and then he said,

"I'll help."

_Ziva and Director Ford leisurely followed by McGee from about twenty feet behind, strolled down the white cement path around the Washington Monument, heading towards the Capitol Building and the Smithsonian Museums which laid between the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument. They were all eating Hebrew National Beef hot dogs that they had gotten at a concession stand. The cherry and Magnolia trees were in full bloom and gorgeous. _

"_Oh, I missed the cherry blossom festival," Ford said, smiling._

"_You have lived here before?" Ziva asked, taking a bit out of her hot dog. Ford nodded._

"_I grew up here. Then I moved to Chicago, then the rest of the world, but DC has always and forever will be my first home," Ford said smiling._

"_When was the last time you were here for the festival?" McGee asked._

"_Five years ago," Ford said, back to McGee. Ziva whistled. Five years was a long time to be away from home, and Ziva figured that Ford had been away for much longer periods of time before. _

_Ziva knew the feeling of missing Washington D.C., her home. She felt the longing for it on her mission for Mossad in Somalia. It was an odd yearning for a place she didn't know if she would return too. She had missed McGee, Abby, Ducky, Gibbs, and even Tony when she left and she had only been gone for months, not years like Ford had. _

"_What made you leave?" Ziva asked._

"_Work," Ford said. "I didn't really have a choice in where I went, but I enjoyed what I did."_

"_Did you ever find a home away from home?" Ziva asked. Ford smiled and said,_

"_I did. Cairo."_

"_Egypt?" Ziva said, incredulously. Ford nodded._

"_I lived there for ten years. Longest I've ever lived somewhere. It's polluted, traffic sucks… I love that city." She said, reminiscing. "I came back to the US speaking English with an accent," she said, laughing. "E- My friends joked about it for mouths until I finally lost it."_

"_I know the feeling," Ziva said. "When I first came here, my Israeli accent was very prominent. Now, you can barely tell I'm from the Middle East." Ziva said. Ford and Ziva smiled at each other. "Does Los Angeles feel like home?" Ziva asked. Ford smiled and said,_

"_It's becoming one." Ford said, and she finished the last of her hot dog. Suddenly her phone rang out of the inside of her jacket pocket. Ford stopped walking and Ziva stopped too. McGee continued walking until he reached Ford, and she reached into her jacket and drew out her phone. It was Director Vance calling. _

"_Leon, before you yell at me, I am on a lunch break and I have every right to take it outside," Ford said. _

"_I'm not calling to haul your butt back to NCIS. I'm calling to tell you that you have to go to L.A."_

"_What happened?" Ford asked._

"_Eliah's contacted Hetty. He wants to talk to you, and only you, in Los Angeles." _

**Hello! Sorry I have not written in a while (My teachers have given me more homework than I would have liked for the past few months.) and I am also sorry this was so short, but I hope you enjoyed it! Please tell me what you think of MOONSTONE in general! Thank you!**


	6. Chapter 6: Eliah

**Eliah**

"Burnt!"

"Roasted!"

"Burnt!"

"_Roasted!_"

"_Burnt!_"

"_Roast-_"

"What are you two arguing about now?" Callen asked. He was sitting at his desk filling out paperwork when Sam and Kensi walked into NCIS: LA.

"Callen, you decide," Kensi said. Callen's eyes widened at this and looked up sharply.

"I don't want any part of this! All I want to know is what you are arguing about!"

"Are s'mores better when the marshmallows are _burnt_," Sam said, a look of disgust on his face. "Or roasted." Callen looked back and forth between Kensi and Sam, unsure of who to go with. Nate and Hetty walked over from Hetty's desk, noticing the awkward silence between Callen, Sam, and Kensi.

"Is there a problem?" Hetty asked.

"Yes," Callen said. "Kensi and Sam want to know what kind of marshmallow is better on a s'more."

"And the problem is?" Hetty asked, again.

"I don't know what a s'more is," Callen said. Sam looked shocked, and Kensi appalled. Nate looked Callen oddly, and Hetty was trying not to smile. "What?"

"_You don't know what a s'more is?_" Kensi asked, exasperated.

"No, I don't. What is it?"

"It's a _roasted_," Sam said, looking pointedly at Kensi, before going on. Kensi rolled her eyes, and when Sam looked away from her she mouthed the word "Burnt" to Callen. "Marshmallow with a piece of chocolate on it between two graham crackers."

"Huh, sounds messy,"

"Oh, it is," Kensie said, smiling.

"Okay, so Callen can't help because he's never had one, what about you Hetty?" Sam asked.

"I like one marshmallow burnt, and the other roasted. I get the best of both worlds that way," Hetty said, wisely remaining neutral in the argument.

"Okay… What about Nate?" Nate looked to Hetty, who shrugged her shoulders, her body language saying, "Enter at your own risk."

"Actually, You can tell a lot about a person by what kind of marshmallow they like on their s'mores-"

"Let's see what Eric thinks!" Kensi said, quickly, and both she and Sam scampered away up the stairs. Callen amusedly followed them, and Hetty and Nate looked at each other and after a moment, they bumped fists, then followed Callen, Sam and Kensi up to Eric's lab.

"What's up?" Eric said, swiveling around in his chair, when they all walked into his lab.

"Sam and I are disagreeing on something."

"Shoot," Eric said.

"Are marshmallows on s'mores better roasted or burnt?" Sam asked.

"That would most definitely be-" Eric said, but then he was cut off by his computer beeping. He turned around confused, but once he saw his screen and the message, "000011/111/-001/-0" popped up in a red box, he's face became scared.

"This is so not cool! Second time in a week this has happened…" he said, and he began to

"What is happening?" Hetty asked worriedly.

"We're being hacked, again!" Eric said, and he made multiple boxes appear, trying to set a trap for the hacker.

"What do they want, Eric?" Callen asked.

"I don't know… They're not going for our files! Damn this guy is good!" he said, after he realized that the hacker completely avoided his trap.

"You're better," Sam said, encouragingly.

"I don't know about… No way! No, no, no!" Eric said, then he began typing faster.

"What?" Nate asked.

"This is impossible! He's in our system already-" Eric began, but then he stopped and backed away from the screen when a window popped up and it opened up a video portal. Suddenly, a handsome man with black hair and cold blue eyes dressed in a black jump suit in a dark room appeared in the window. He looked angry, yet calm at the same time, and the clashing emotions made his face sinister looking.

"Who are you?" Hetty asked.

"Where is Assistant Director Ford?" the man asked in a deep, growling voice.

"She's not here," Callen answered, stepping forward.

"Then get her here."

"What do you want?" Hetty asked.

"I want to speak to Ford. Here, in this office."

"I am sorry, but we cannot help you," Hetty said. "We do not negotiate with terrorists."

"You are mistaken," the man said. "I'm not a terrorist."

"Then who are you?" Hetty asked.

"Eliah," the man said. Callen felt his stomach drop and he clamped his mouth shut to prevent yelling out. "You have six hours."

"And what will happen if we don't get her in six hours?" Hetty asked.

"Then I will kill her," Eliah said, his face devoid of emotion. Callen's stomach dropped again, and Eliah shut down the feed, severing all communication with NCIS.

"Eric," Hetty said,

"Yes?"

"Get me Vance."

_Ford walked into NCIS: LA with Gibbs, Ziva, McGee, and Tony. They were greeted by Hetty who immediately began updating Ford and Gibb's team on the details of what had happened. Ford was listening but she was looking around NCIS: LA for Callen. She found him sitting on one of the benches looking at her. She smiled weakly at him. He didn't smile back. Ford jerked her head sideways, letting Callen know he could follow her. He nodded and got up and followed the agents to the stairway. He slipped past all of them until he was next to Ford. He squeezed her hand with his own and whispered so quietly that only she could hear him._

"_Please, be careful," he said. Ford smiled and squeezed his hand back, but she didn't say anything; Callen knew she wouldn't._

"_Ford, are you listening to me?" Hetty asked. _

"_Yes, I'm listening. Agents Hanna and Blye were arguing about marshmallows, they took it up to Eric when he realized NCIS was being hacked by Eliah."_

"_Ah, so you were listening," Hetty said, surprised. "Who is Eliah?" she asked. As they got to the top of the steps and turned down the hallway. Ford chose her words carefully. _

"_I might explain after this." _

"_You _might_ explain? Ford, this man is threatening to kill you! You need to tell us about him."_

"_I am going to speak to him and then I will assess his mental state as to whether or not he is planning to kill me, until that time, mum is the word I will speak." Ford said, and turned into Eric's lab. Ford walked up behind Eric, who was staring at the screen, waiting for Eliah to hack NCIS again. Callen stood behind her, slightly to her right, and only took his eyes off her once to share a glance with Gibbs, who broke off the glance to look to Tony, who looked to Ziva who looked to McGee. McGee looked at Callen's team who were all huddled around the table in the lab's side room._

_Hetty looked reproachfully at Ford and said, "If you weren't the Assistant Director, I would have your buttocks for that," Hetty growled. This made Ford, Gibbs, and Callen smile. _

"_And if I was not, my ass would be unequivocally and utterly yours to butcher but for the time being, Hetty, I must pull rank." _

"_Very well, but no that this is under protest," Hetty said. Ford smiled again and said,_

"_Understood." _

_Suddenly Eric's computer flashed red and Eric had to repress the urge to stop the hacker from getting into NCIS. Callen's heart rate skyrocketed and he glanced nervously at Gibbs again, who just gave him a look that said, "Wait." Ziva felt nervous, not knowing what to expect of the man who was trying to kill her friend. She rested her hand on her gun next to her, but then removed it when the thought occurred to her that Eliah could not kill Ford through a computer, and it would not be good if she shot the computer. Gibbs' felt butterflies in his stomach, and Ford… Ford looked like a statue; an unmoving, unblinking, blank faced statue. Even Nate, the best of the best of people readers, could not tell her thoughts. _

_They all watched the computer go through several pop up windows with computer jargon that only Eric could read. Suddenly the NCIS database came up, and Eric said,_

"_He's in." Ford mouth twitched in such a way that Nate couldn't tell whether it was in fear or happiness. _Maybe a little of both. _Nate thought. _

_The video portal window came up and Ford's stomach dropped. She hadn't been ready for what she saw. On the five hour plane ride to LA, she had told herself over and over again, _You are going to treat this like you've seen Eliah every day. Do not act like you've shot him. Don't act like he shot you. MOONSTONE never existed. Somalia never happened. Cairo, Berlin, Paris, Moscow, Tele-Aviv, Chicago, never happened. _She had told herself on the plane. _Idiot._ She now called herself. _

_Eliah looked down at her from the computer screen. His black hair was short and he was clean shaven and his clothes looked relatively new. _Good. You've been safe. _she thought. His cold blue eyes bore right into hers and softened for a split second before becoming cold again. _

_Several silent moments occurred before Ford broke the silence. _

"_You've never been good at hacking computers. That was always Decker's business." _

"_Never pictured you'd run a government agency." _

"_I thought you were dead." Ford said._

"_I though _you_ were dead." Eliah said after her. Ford smiled grimly._

"_So we have changed in the years we've been alive."_

"_It seems to be that way," Eliah said. More silence passed between them. Again, Ford broke the silence. _

"_Why?"_

"_Why what?"_

"_Why torture Jacobi? Why kill Miles?" Ford asked._

"_I… MOONSTONE needs to be deactivated!" Ford said._

"_MOONSTONE was deactivated-"_

"_Deactivated _permanently_," Eliah said, pointedly. "If not, the Agency could reactivate it at anytime._

"_The Agency cannot and will not reactivate MOONSTONE. You taught them better than that."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_After we- After our meeting at the warehouse the CIA deactivated the program and put a unredeemable ban on it. MOONSTONE cannot be reactivated for any reason."_

"_The Agency has ignored hundreds of those orders, Ford!" Eliah yelled out at her._

"_Not this one, E," Ford said, staring at him coolly. "Not this time."_

"_What makes MOONSTONE any different?" Eliah growled at her. Ford flinched and said,_

"_Because, the agent to go off the deep end in this operation tried to kill the Director." Eliah was repelled back by this phrase. He quickly looked down the back up in a guilty jerk of his head, but he said nothing. "E, MOONSTONE presents no danger to anyone. My offer still stands, E," Ford said. "Eliah, this is not you! Turn yourself in. Stop terrorizing people. The Director of NCIS is going to speak to me the moment we are done talking and he will want to know everything that is happening right now. If you don't give yourself up, then I will be forced to label you as a terrorist. I don't want to do that again. E, do not make me go through that again." She said. Eliah looked at her, then he looked at Callen. Callen was trying his best not to kill Eliah with his glare. His eyes traveled to Gibbs, who's mouth was set in a hard line. Then he looked to Ziva who was looking at him more murderously than Callen was. Eliah swallowed and looked back at Ford. _

"_Your hair does look better longer, Ford," Eliah said. Ford looked at him oddly, and jumped when Eliah suddenly vanished from the screen. Eric, who had been sitting through all of this with his arms folded across his chest, unfolded his arms, and he typed a little on the keyboard. _

"_He's out," Eric announced. _

"_We're you able to track him?" Sam asked. Ford looked confused, and turned to Callen as Eric began typing again._

"_We set up a system to track him before you got here," Callen clarified. Ford nodded._

"_No," Eric said._

"_No?" Hetty, Gibbs, Tony, and Ziva said together. Ford tutted._

"_Typical," she said. Now it was Callen's turn to look confused. "In MOONSTONE we had a set of rules, but the most important was , "Never, ever, _ever,_ use a traceable device." _

"_But there's no such thing as an untraceable computer," Eric said._

"_Which is why he's bouncing the signal," Ford said to Eric, who stared at her, in awe._

"_Bouncing the signal?" Gibbs said._

"_It means he's manipulating the server so it sends a signal to many different locations and routes them back to NCIS… He's making it seem like he's in multiple places at once," McGee said, but after a stern look from Gibbs, he shortened the story._

"_Which confuses a tracking device." Eric finished for him. _

"_Ford…" Hetty said. Ford grimaced and she turned to the little woman. "What is MOONSTONE?" she asked. Ford sighed heavily and she looked at Gibbs, who shrugged as if to say, "It's your call, Director." Ford looked around the room. She looked at McGee, Tony, Ziva, Gibbs, Nate, Hetty, Kensi, Sam, then her eyes fell on Callen. She could see that he was angry. Very angry. Ford breathed in and looked at Callen sadly. _Please don't think of me any less for what I'm about to say. _She thought to him. She breathed out. _

"_MOONSTONE was a program/experiment commissioned for and run by the CIA."_


End file.
